108 Penn State student-athletes earn spring Academic All-Big Ten

108 Penn State student-athletes earn spring Academic All-Big Ten

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Representing 13 spring sports, 108 Nittany Lion student-athletes have been recognized with Academic All-Big Ten honors. Penn State's spring honorees brings its all-time total to 4,023 during the 18 years of the conference academic program.

Penn State's 108 honorees ranked third among the 12 Big Ten institutions. For the 2011-12 fall, winter, and spring seasons, a combined 240 Nittany Lion student-athletes were recognized by the Big Ten for academic achievement.

Penn State's academic all-conference award winners and their respective teams excelled both academically and athletically. Several student-athletes who were named Academic All-Big Ten honorees also earned recognition on the field.

The men's volleyball team, which had five members earn conference academic honors, captured the program's 14th consecutive EIVA title and advance to its 14th straight NCAA National Semifinals in 2012.

Junior pitcher Steven Hill (Colleyville, Texas) delivered baseball's biggest 2012 highlight, tossing Penn State's first no hitter since 1995 on April 21 in a 2-0 road win over Iowa. After starting the season with a 3-14 record, the Nittany Lions went 26-13 in their last 39 contests, finished 18-4 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, and earned its second consecutive berth to the Big Ten Tournament.

The Penn State women's lacrosse team ended the 2012 season ranked No. 11 in the nation with a 12-7 record, earning the program's most wins since 2005 and its third consecutive double digit win season. The Nittany Lions received an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999. Senior Dana Cahill (Towson, Md.) and sophomore Lizzy Carney (West Chester, Pa.) anchored the Penn State defense in 2012. Cahill, one of just two goalkeepers to be a Tewaaraton Award candidate, was named First Team All-ALC and ALC Goalkeeper of the Year for the second consecutive season while Carney, after making the switch from the midfield in the offseason, was recognized as a First Team All-ALC defender. Both Nittany Lions earned IWLCA Second Team All-America honors.

In 2012, the Penn State men's lacrosse team went 9-6 overall and 5-1 in conference play during head coach Jeff Tambroni's second year at the program's helm. The Nittany Lions secured a berth in the CAA semifinals for the second straight year and defeated its highest ranked opponent in program history with a win against No. 1 Notre Dame. Penn State was also ranked in the top 10 in both the USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse media polls for the first time in program history on March 5. Senior attackman Matthew Mackrides (Newtown Square, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions with 30 goals while tying for the team lead in points (42). A three-time All-CAA First Team member, he earned USILA All-America Honorable Mention recognition in 2012. Sophomore goalkeeper Austin Kaut (Morton, Pa.), a 2012 Tewaaraton Award candidate, ranked sixth in the NCAA in save percentage (.584) and 10th in goals-against average (7.93) and saves per game (11.13). He was named First Team All-CAA and Third Team USILA All-America for his stellar 2012 campaign.

Despite missing 18 games due to an emergency appendectomy, junior centerfielder Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) was a force for the Penn State softball team, hitting a program record .423 with 41 hits in 97 at-bats. She scored a team-high 23 times with six doubles, a triple and a team-high nine home runs, all in the final two months of the season. She also knocked home 20 runs batted in with a slugging percentage of .784 and an on-base percentage of .529 while stealing five bases in six attempts. For her standout season, she was named First Team NFCA All-Great Lakes and was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection.

Women's tennis player junior Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) earned First Team All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive year after compiling a 17-6 record this season, including three victories over ranked opponents, and was ranked in the ITA singles poll for the entire 2012 campaign.

Sophomore men's tennis player Russell Bader (Austin, Texas) was part of doubles team that earned a bid to the NCAA Championship. Bader posted 24 doubles victories during the 2012 season, helping the duo finish with the No. 28 ranking in the final regular season ITA Doubles poll.

Men's fencer Daniel Gomez-Tanamachi (Mexico City, Mexico) went 24-8 in 2012 and placed 10th at the NCAA Championships, earning Honorable Mention All-America recognition. The junior recently claimed a spot on the Mexico Men's Foil Team and will compete at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.) and Bernard Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.) of the men's track and field team were part of the Penn State program's first-ever Big Ten title in the 4x400-meter relay. The team then qualified for the NCAA Championships by blazing its way to a school-record 3:03.57 during the final day of action at the NCAA Eastern Preliminary.

On the women's side, senior Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.) earned First Team All-Big Ten recognition following her second-straight conference victory in the 10,000-meters, while Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.) received Second Team All-Big Ten honors as part of Penn State's silver medal-winning 4x400 relay team.

Junior Anthony DeGol (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) of the men's golf team was named to the Golf Coaches Association of America Division I PING All-Northeast Region Team in 2012. DeGol registered three top-10 finishes during the season, including a third-place finish at the Fireline Towson Invitational in March. He also tied for fourth on the team for most rounds played (22) and recorded a team-best 74.1 round average.

Penn State student-athletes continue to graduate well above their peers nationwide, earning record-setting academic performances, according to statistical information released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA's annual study of institutions nationwide revealed that Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 88 percent compared to the 80 percent average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2001-02 through 2004-05. The 88 percent figure was third to Northwestern (96) and Illinois (89) among Big Ten Conference institutions.